Opposition wants issues in Zimbabwe to feature at WCAR

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Deputy leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk of the opposition Democratic Alliance has called on Pretoria to ensure that ongoing violence and "racism against white Zimbabweans" feature on the agenda at the forthcoming World Conference Against Racism in Durban.
"It would be an opportunity missed if this conference only considered racism of the past--which should naturally be considered--and did not also consider current manifestations of racism and ethnic cleansing as in Zimbabwe," Van Schalkwyk said in an official request to Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma.
Attached to the letter was a resolution which van Schalkwyk suggested should be put forward by the South African government.
The draft demands that President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU- PF Government cease and desist all actions and support for actions which contravene the provisions of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and all other international and regional covenants ratified by Zimbabwe, specifically those commitments dealing with equality, non- discrimination and respect for the rule-of-law.
It also demands that Mugabe should address the orchestrated campaign against white Zimbabweans by the ruling Zanu-PF party.
The resolution also formally requested that UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson lead a mission to Zimbabwe to assess the extent of human rights abuses and to establish a permanent monitoring programme in the country.